


Can You Hear Them Screaming Out Your Name?

by spacegoose



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Black Paladin Lance (Voltron), Blue Paladin Allura (Voltron), But Also Just Completely AU Timeline, Canonical Character Death, Don't Ask Me Questions I Can't Answer, F/F, Fix-It of Sorts, Galra Keith (Voltron), Galra customs, Getting Together, Half-Galra Keith (Voltron), I Just Made My Own AU Ending, Keith Knows Galra Customs, Lance Doesn't Know Galra Customs, M/M, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Post-Season/Series 05, Red Paladin Keith (Voltron), Songfic, i haven't even watched the show, i think
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:34:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27608392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacegoose/pseuds/spacegoose
Summary: "Lance!"So many calls his name now, numerous variations all tied to his heroism - he is an actual legend, these days. He saves people, worlds, galaxies, systems. But he can't save them all.He'd never be able to without his right-hand man, Keith.[Or: The Paladins with entourage returns to Earth. Keith will always support his leader through thick and thin. So will his mother. Along the way, they lose some, they gain some, and Lance learns a bit about Galra customs. A collection of smaller scenes in chronological order that centers around Lance. And also Keith, because they're Lance and Keith, neck and neck.]Songfic written over the epic Legends Never Die by Pentakill. Rated for swearing.
Relationships: Acxa/Veronica (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 89





	Can You Hear Them Screaming Out Your Name?

**Author's Note:**

> As mentioned in the tags, I have not watched the show. I'm just wringing something out of a song here, as the battle scene kind of made itself when I listened to the song. Then I wrote the entire fic while listening to it on repeat constantly.
> 
> I really like that song.
> 
> Anyhow, I hope you'll enjoy. Unbeta'ed. I own all mistakes and none of the characters.

_Legends never die_

_When the world is calling you_

_Can you hear them screaming out your name?_

“Lance!”

The scream was loud across the tarmac. Lance’s heart stuttered heavily under his black and white chestplate, legs twitching to sprint forward, but he couldn’t abandon his team just now. Commotion along the line made his eyes snap to the left of the higher-ranking officials—he recognised most, but not all—where he could see several officers seemingly fight to hold something back. He couldn’t stop the tearless half-sob of a breath that left him when he recognised the sharply cut brown hair against the caramel skin that matched his own perfectly. 

Only half a step behind him to his right, Keith hummed and reached out a hand to rest securely on Lance’s shoulder in support. Behind him to his left, Allura walked tall and proud in their new and glinting armours that actually matched their lions now. Almost hidden behind the towering Keith, Pidge walked with measured steps, sweeping her eyes over the welcome committee with a hand in her brother’s on her inner side, directly behind Keith. Lance could almost feel Hunk’s impulse to wring his hands from his place halfway behind Allura.

Shielded behind their V-formation, their crew and friends walked—Shiro and Coran in front, Krolia, Acxa, and Matt trailing after. The dead silence that rang after the scream only grew heavier at the sight of the two tall figures who could not hide or pass as remotely human. Krolia and Acxa stuck out as sore thumbs, purple and blue faces easily visible over the others.

Lance mentally praised the higher powers for how their armour hid most of Keith’s skin, purple, fuzzy splotches only visible on his clawed hands, forearms, shoulders, on the outside of his legs and shins as well as along his spine and all the way to his neck where it rose to tint his slightly pointed ears. It would be easier for the Garrison officials to deal with Keith growing to well above six feet from the get go, than the whole half-galra thing.

Lance’s eyes were stiffly fastened on the woman still pushing and pulling to get free as they walked closer. She yelled out his name again, making his hands curl into fists as Keith pressed harder against his shoulder—then she suddenly broke free and began sprinting across the tarmac between them.

Keith barely had time to murmur “Go,” and give him a push before he took three long running steps and met his sister in a violent collision. Her sobs shook both of them as he wrapped his arms tightly around her and buried his face in her shoulder.

“Vero,” he croaked out, “Vero.”

She sobbed louder and tightened one arm around his shoulder, using the other to card through his short hair, feet dangling uselessly above the ground as she was held up by him.

They didn’t notice the other Paladins pause behind them, eyes sharp on the three officers who’d given chase. A bark of an order made them return to the Garrison group while five of the most decorated officers started forward, one of them which the humans recognised as Commander Iverson.

Without prompting, the Paladins walked a few steps forward again to stand in line beside Lance and Veronica. They’d all heard the tales of Lance’s family many times—Matt, Shiro, and Keith had even met her before while at the Garrison—and they hadn’t expected anything else of a reunion than this.

Keith’s eyes automatically went to the one whose uniform signalled was the General. His limbs buzzed lowly and he forced himself to breathe calmly so as to not make his claws pop out further and be clearly visible through the gloves.

“Officer McClain. Stand back,” barked the General, wholly unsuccessfully and completely overheard by both Veronica and Lance who’d shifted back enough to stare at each other while murmuring Spanish in broken voices, too low to be heard. Keith felt his mother shift behind them.

“General, sir,” Keith began, voice low but strong, “with all due respect, they deserve it. It’s been years.”

“Cadet Kogane.” Iverson’s voice was flat, making all of the Paladins turn their head towards him. “Cadet Garrett. Cadet Gunderson. Cadet McClain.”

Several breaths were heard along the line of people at his words. Keith tightened his left hand into a fist, willing himself not to call on his bayard.

“Commander, sir. Their correct titles are Paladin.”

Louder gasps rippled over the people as Shiro stepped forward, Matt close behind. 

“Pilots Shirogane and Holt. You were thought to be killed in action.” The general spoke up before Iverson had a chance. “We did have report of your survival, but you’ll have to excuse our doubt.”

Pidge snorted. “We know. We’ve been in contact with our father.”

It was actually a pleasure for Keith to see the brows furrow on more than one of the officers faces before Allura spoke up, for the first time calling attention to herself. Brows furrowed even deeper as their closer look revealed her non-human features.

“I think we have to introduce—and re-introduce—ourselves properly. I am Princess Allura of Altea, a destroyed planet far away, and I am the Blue Paladin, one of the main fighters along with the Red Paladin Keith Kogane.” She gestured towards Keith at the other side of Lance, who seemed to urge Veronica to listen. Keith swept his eyes over the people in front of them and gave a sharp nod. “Yellow Paladin Hunk Garrett and Green Paladin Katie Holt -” Pidge’s face split in a feral grin in response to the eyebrows Iverson shot up, “- are the team’s strong support and sharp minds. Black Paladin Lance McClain is our head tactician, sharpshooter and leader.”

At this, Lance shot his sister a wide, proud smile that she answered instantly, her hands resting on his broad shoulders.

_They never lose hope when everything's cold_

_And the fighting's near_

_It's deep in their bones, they'll run into smoke_

_When the fire is fierce_

_Oh, pick yourself up, ‘cause_

_Legends never die_

“Paladin McClain,” Iverson drawled slowly with disdain dripping from every syllable, breaking the beat of silence after Allura's introductions. Keith felt a tingle of anger drip down his back. “Tactician and leader. That’s almost more surprising than the several aliens you seem to have brought home.”

The silence lasted two eternal seconds before a vicious snarl ripped through the air, amplified by a rumbling growl only half a second after that. All eyes jumped instinctually to the source of the sound—Keith, and behind him, Krolia, both displaying their sharp canine teeth, although Krolia’s were far longer and far more frightening.

Only the General managed to hold his ground and not take a step back, face paling but strong. Veronica turned to face the Garrison group, tucking herself into Lance’s side as they wrapped an arm around each other. Lance simply nodded to the General, although his eyes were fastened on Iverson.

“It’s cool,” he said, voice surprisingly smooth for someone whose eyes were still rimmed in red from tears. Reaching his free arm out to pat against Keith's shoulder, finally completely silencing the inaudible rumble in his chest. “I’ll have to apologize for my fellow Paladin, but you see, Keith takes a lot after his mother.”

As if by clue, Krolia stepped up closely behind her son, still looming half a foot over his head. Placed so closely together—and with their identical reactions earlier—it was impossible not to understand Lance’s implication. The dark purple and pink streaks in her hair did not negate how similar it was to Keith’s in it’s unruliness, their noses sloping into the same line, Keith’s scar mimicking her facial markings enough to emphasise the shared shape of their face, and although Keith’s eyes had the shape from his Korean—and human—father, their sharp gazes burned identically, meeting eyes without withholding. Krolia had never been the kind of person to feel any sort of apologetic about her presence, but it had taken years for Keith to accept himself fully. Now, he stood fast and met the gaping stares from not only the main officers, but also the crew gathered behind them. When he reached Iverson, he paused and raised his chin. 

Disgust curled the top lip of the commander.

“Continuing the introduction,” Lance interrupted the stare-off, voice ringing loud over the murmurs, “You recognise Takashi Shirogane and Matthew Holt. Here, we have Royal Advisor Coran of Altea, the stray Galra Acxa that we picked up along the way,” —Lance pointed them out as he introduced them, the blue-skinned woman curling her lip at his words— “And of course Krolia, also Galra, a Blade of Marmora, intergalactic insurgency and group of assassins, and most importantly, Keith’s mother.”

Lance ended his sweep of the group with a crooked smile at Keith, who answered it with a quick twitch of his own lips. Krolia huffed low enough for only Keith to hear, a sound he recognised as her laugh. 

Krolia was unfailingly loyal to her son, and in that, also his leader. Keith was actually a bit surprised at how quickly she supported his snarl with her own, but he also knew that she liked Lance a lot. Maybe even too much—not for herself, but according to her raised eyebrows, poking claws, and decidedly not subtle hints, for her son instead.

They’d both seen the flashes of visions of the possible futures on the back of the space whale.

“So Pilot Shirogane was speaking the truth,” remarked the General, “back when we found him four years ago.”

“Of course he was. And I suppose it was further supported by Sam Holt when he returned?” Lance asked, making both Matt and Pidge perk up. 

The General had a brilliant poker face, but the officers behind him less so. Some of them looked down or to each other.

“Where is Sam Holt now?” Pidge asked sharply, a frown marring her forehead. The General stared at her for a second.

“He’s at a nearby facility I can’t disclose,” was his answer, not entirely surprising.

“I’d appreciate it if someone was able to send a heli to pick him up. He still doesn’t know that we found Matt alive,” Shiro interjected, his hands locked behind his back, stance as powerful and imposing as anyone entitled to make that request. Luckily, no one seemed to question it as the General nodded and barked an order at one of the men behind them, who retreated to make a call.

Matt stepped close to Pidge again, his hand finding hers in a crushing grip.

“So, now that we’ve done the whole ‘we come in peace’ deal, although half of us is actually just returning home,” Lance started talking again, waving his free hand animatedly in front of him, “I ask that we could reconvene again tomorrow, because both Hunk and I have some very important family business to deal with, mainly finding and seeing our families again after too many years lost in space with the knowledge that they probably think we’re dead, so.”

Keith almost laughed at the faces of the officers, especially when he heard Veronica’s shaky laugh from the other side of his leader. He’d seen the same reactions over and over in other welcome committees of countless aliens in Lance’s time as Black Paladin. Despite his rambling, he managed to never insult or alienate— _hah_ —anyone, quite the contrary. His relaxed way of diplomacy had been largely fruitful and his impeccable people skills allowed him to almost always gauge if he should stick to a more formal approach. Back here at home, though, he had no filter whatsoever.

“Any crucial knowledge would be best to exchange immediately,” the General insisted to which Lance nodded.

“That’s why I leave my Blue and Green Paladins here, along with our non-paladin entourage. I assure you that they’ll be able to answer any and all questions. If not, I’m bringing Keith as my contact to the team—I really can’t promise I’ll stay alert on the line, but you should be able to reach me since I am the leader of the team.” A pointed look at Iverson caused both Pidge and Keith to grin. “The Yellow Paladin gets to meet his moms in peace because he is a sweetheart and has deserved it.”

Hunk blushed. “Aw Lance, thanks. You too.”

Lance sent him a wink and a finger gun over Veronica’s head.

Although most of the officials seemed a bit peeved over the presentation of casualness in the team, no one had any objections. The General nodded slowly.

“Good. We’ll arrange rooms for the… guests, and reconvene tomorrow at 800 hours,” he said with finality. Lance nodded back, then turned, keeping Veronica close to his side.

“Okay team, break up!”

The Garrison group stared at the Paladins and their entourage as they made their goodbyes with hugs and clasped hands, then murmured when Krolia bent her head to press her forehead to Keith’s in place of a hug, their eyes closed. After a few seconds, they drew back with a smile and a nod, Keith moving on to clasp an arm around Shiro’s shoulder.

Lance narrowed his eyes at the Garrison group, noticing their scrutiny of the aliens and their every movement. Leaning close to Shiro after Keith had moved on, murmured into his ear.

“Remember, you’re on Galra keeping duty. Watch for problems in both directions.”

Shiro nodded and smiled at Veronica, who was still glued to her brother’s side. 

“Oh,” Veronica said, face suddenly lighting up as she remembered something, “Shiro. I’ll try to pull some strings and get him in the meeting tomorrow.”

Shiro’s face blanked, then contorted in a range of hopeful and scared expressions. Lance laughed and clapped his friend on his shoulder twice before moving towards Krolia.

Neither Krolia or Acxa was known for hugging, so the team mostly used a gesture mimicking the forehead touch as a greeting and farewell. Lance did so too now, lifting his hand and placing a curled index finger against the middle of his brow. Krolia’s eyes crinkled at the corners, lips lifting minutely into a small, pleased smile. Instead of responding to the gesture, she stepped forward to repeat the motion she did for Keith, although shorter—pressing her forehead briefly to Lance’s significantly lower one. Lance blinked twice rapidly in surprise while Keith whined out a very tortured “Mom!” and Acxa sniggered. 

“Bring my compliments to your mother for raising such a strong warrior, and promise to take care of Keith,” she said in her surprisingly soft voice. Lance simply nodded as they both ignored the splutter from the man in question. When he looked at the others, he caught the faces of Allura and Coran, both smiling widely.

“Alright,” Lance then said, gesturing to Hunk, “Come and get your pod so we can get going.”

“Oh man,” Hunk breathed as they began walking back towards the Black Lion that had flown the crew and an extra pod to Earth, “I’m so excited. I think I might start crying long before I’m there.”

“Same, my dude. You’re lucky not to have an audience for the ride.”

Veronica and Keith laughed. In no time, they were in the Lion, Hunk flying his pod towards his moms’ place behind them, veering away after a short minute. Lance sat in the pilot seat, Veronica standing close by as Keith rested, sitting on a bench in the back of the cockpit. The siblings talked in hushed voices, as if scared of waking each other from a dream, but exchanged little substantial knowledge. That they saved for his return home.

After a while, Veronica started drooping, exhausted by the adrenaline. Lance scooted to one side, letting his sister fall into the seat beside him, Black grumbling lowly in the back of his head, but accepting it graciously since they could feel how much it mattered to their pilot. Veronica quickly fell asleep there, tucked against Lance’s side and the cockpit grew silent.

With about half an hour left of the trip, Lance finally broke the silence, knowing Keith wasn’t sleeping.

“So,” he drawled, “Wanna explain what the deal with Krolia was?”

Keith’s huff made him turn to look at his fellow paladin and was surprised to see a pinkish tint spread across his cheeks—more pink than red, Lance noticed, probably some Galra thing—as he looked down to his now gloveless hands.

“What deal with Krolia?” Keith asked in a grumble, clearly playing stupid. Lance rolled his eyes.

“The forehead thing. I’ve never seen her do it to anyone but you and the reaction from the other aliens kind of assured me that it means something.”

“Right,” Keith sighed, then rubbed the web of skin between his thumb and index finger on his right hand, “It’s just very… unusual.”

“Unusual how?” Lance prodded, trying to pull out a straight answer from his friend, who only sighed again, this time regaining the same tortured tone as his whine earlier.

“It’s very _intimate_ ,” Keith murmured, leaning his head back to stare at the ceiling, “It’s only ever done between the closest family or loved ones.”

Lance tried not to sputter and wake his sister. “So what does that mean?”

Keith’s blush returned, stronger than before. “Acxa would say it means that Krolia accepts you as her son.”

Lance was silent for a beat. “Cool,” he then said, “I’ve always wanted two moms like Hunk. Also, she’s badass and very intimidating. Cool.”

“That’s not…” Keith broke himself off and let out another tortured sigh. “Nevermind. She just really likes you.”

“Does that mean that we’re brothers?”

Keith seemingly choked on his own breath and coughed violently. Veronica stirred at Lance’s side.

“No,” Keith gasped, then coughed twice again before continuing strongly, “No, absolutely not, that’s now how it works.”

“Oh, good,” Lance answered, keeping his voice casual.

“Good?”

“Yeah, good.”

“Gosh, you’re still as awkward as ever,” Veronica said softly close to his ear. Lance winced, knowing that there was a big chance Keith would actually hear with his fancy Galra senses that included heightened hearing and sense of smell, as well as sensitivity to heat and cold (but a higher endurance for both too).

“Oh, Vero’s awake! That’s good, we’ll be landing soon,” Lance babbled as a distraction, then froze. “Dios. Mami. Papi.”

Veronica patted his cheek as his eyes began to sting again while Keith’s purple hand came to rest on his shoulder with a squeeze.

_Legends never die_

_They're written down in eternity_

_But you'll never see the price it costs_

_Scars collected all their lives_

“Lance. Lance.”

His own scream was still ringing between the walls of his small room as he came to, warm, familiar hands pressing his shoulders flat against the bed. He gasped, then a sob wrenched itself from his chest.

“Lance. I’m here,” the soothing voice said, hands gripping and pulling Lance up until he was pressed against a warm chest, hiccupping into the soft, white material of the shirt. His own hands twisted into the fabric immediately as his tears left soaked spots on the shoulder he rested against.

“I’m here. It was a dream. Lance, I’m here.”

Short claws dragged ever so softly through his hair as Keith rocked slowly from side to side, soothing Lance’s ragged breathing.

“Keith,” he rasped out, “Keith. Don’t die.”

“I’m here,” Keith simply repeated, stilling the hand in Lance’s hair and ran the flat of his other hand up and down Lance’s bare back. The skin was uneven in texture against his sensitive palms, the visible scars from the explosion during their very first adventures as Paladins now greatly faded, but still slightly raised and pale against his tawny skin. 

“It’s always… I can’t save them. I can’t save you,” Lance admitted after a few silent minutes, pulling back to look at Keith’s face.

“I know,” he answered softly, “I know, but I’m here. I can’t promise we’ll save everyone, but we’ll save as many as possible.”

Lance nodded. “I know.”

Keith breathed out slowly as he reached for Lance’s cheeks, smearing away the tears there. His purpled fingers and claws didn’t bother him anymore, neither did they bother Lance, who didn’t even flinch at the sharp tips of the claws passed just below his eyes. Keith’s left thumb paused briefly over the half-inch long pale white line that ran vertically just below Lances right eye, a matching one above his eye splitting his eyebrow in two.

Keith had learned to manage his claws the hard way when they first grew in, a sparring session ending in shouts and panic when blood suddenly cascaded from the gash across Lance’s eye—miraculously enough, he hadn’t hit the actual eye.

He’d sparred with gloves on for months after, until his mother returned from a mission to hiss at him. Lance only joked about almost ending like Iverson and how the scar only would attract all the lovely ladies.

Keith let his hands rest on Lance’s shoulders, feeling them rise and fall as Lance took a deep breath.

“Thanks, Keith,” he murmured, then surprised Keith by leaning forward, one hand releasing his shirt to rise and lay against the back of his head. In a millisecond, Keith’s pulse skyrocketed, then skipped three entire beats as Lance used the hold on the back of his head to push their foreheads together. Keith’s eyes refused to close, heartbeat hard and fast, all while Lance’s eyes slipped shut and his shoulders lowered, tension bleeding out of his body. With a shivering inhale, Keith raised his own hand to mirror Lance’s hold on the back of his head.

 _He doesn’t know what it means_ , Keith reminded himself, trying not to bask in the intimate gesture. He knew himself how this was considered a gesture more intimate than a kiss, reserved for parents and children, and lovers. Not even siblings shared this gesture without scandal. Even Krolia doing it to Lance would be considered controversial, but the most meaningful way to not adopt, but accept him as her son, as Keith’s partner. Especially with the hand Lance added in his hair—that particular addition was solely for lovers.

They sat there, just breathing and relaxing—as much as Keith was able to under the circumstance—before Lance broke their reverie.

“Will you stay? I’m not sure I can go back to sleep.”

Keith nodded silently, the tip of his nose bumping against Lance’s once before they broke apart, Lance scooting over in the bed and lifting the covers to make space for Keith. They ended up on their sides, facing each other, hands resting in a relaxed pile between them.

Silently, Lance moved forward until their foreheads touched again, then sighed deeply. Keith’s heart stuttered and he was awake for a long while after Lance’s breathing had evened out.

_When everything's lost, they pick up their hearts_

_And avenge defeat_

_Before it all starts, they suffer through harm_

_Just to touch a dream_

_Oh, pick yourself up, 'cause_

_Legends never die_

“Lance!”

The hoarse cry ripped through his chaotic mind, eyes barely registering more than the white and red chestplate covered in dirty smears of many colours and textures—greyish sand, black soot, smears of thick red and greenish liquid. It matched the dirt on Lance’s own armour.

“Veronica,” he tried to scream, but his voice came out barely louder than a whisper, swallowed completely by the roar of the battle around them. Keith smashed his bayard against his thigh as he kneeled in front of the Black Paladin, letting it retract into wherever it was before he summoned it, then pulled first his own, then Lance’s helmet off before gripping Lance’s cheeks.

“Vero,” Lance tried again and Keith nodded in response, “I saw her pod get hit and crash. Keith, I can’t…”

His voice broke, tears sliding down his face, quickly brushed aside by Keith’s fingers.

“Come on, Lance,” he rasped out, voice roughened by heavy use during the fight, “You can’t stop now. She’s strong, we’ll find her afterwards. You need to keep on going.”

“Keith, I can’t. I can’t save them,” Lance sobbed, gripping Keith’s hands.

“You have to,” Keith shouted over his babbles, shaking his head just a bit in the grip.

“Keith, don’t die. I can’t do it if you die, please don’t die.” Lance’s voice was bordering on hysterical. Precious time passed as they hid behind their small cover, the battle raging on around them.

“Come on, Lance! We have to keep going,” Keith insisted again, burying his own panic deep inside him. He hadn’t seen his mother’s tall figure for way too long already and he refused to think about losing her this soon after finding her.

“I can’t save you, Keith,” Lance cried out again, his deactivated bayard laying flat on the ground beside his hips.

“Yes you can,” Keith growled, “if you would just _help me_!”

His last words was screamed out, finally succeeding in snapping Lance out of his attack. He hiccuped, eyes wide and wet as they stared at Keith.

“Lance, we can do _anything_ ,” Keith breathed, “We’ve killed robeasts the size of Voltron, we’ve taken down Sendak’s entire fleet, we’ve liberated entire systems from the Galra, we’ve made alliances, friends, enemies, war, peace. _Anything_ , as long as we do it together.”

Lance’s breathing was still quick and superficial, but his eyes turned sharp and aware as Keith spoke and he started nodding along. Then Keith pulled him forward sharply, pressing their foreheads together almost painfully.

“We can do anything,” Keith repeated.

“We can do anything,” Lance mimicked in a softer voice. They nodded together, noses bumping. Beside them, three Blades flew past their shelter, swords flashing to deflect blaster shots from the enemy. One of them didn’t manage to deflect all and was hit in the shoulder, the force of it pushing them down in a twist of the body.

“We can do anything.”

Keith repeated the mantra again, Lance repeating after him in a stronger voice. This time, Keith answered with a feral, fanged grin that pulled on the scar on his cheek. Lance breathed deep, then sent back a grin just as wild and violent, their eyes locking together.

“We can do anything!”

This time, it was Lance who shouted it, and Keith only answered with a wordless yell that Lance joined as he clasped his hands on either side of Keith’s face in the same grip as his partner.

Their yell swelled to a scream until they had no more breath to use. Blood pounding hard, breath running quick, faces smiling, they both pulled back, shoved on their helmets and grabbed their bayards in almost complete synchronicity, twin blades sprouting from Keith’s Marmora blade and bayard in a flash in the same second as Lance’s most favoured rifle. They shared one more nod, then hurled themselves into the fray, moving flawlessly in the deadly patterns they’d practised and perfected for years, leaving a broad trail of felled bodies.

_Legends never die_

_They become a part of you_

_Every time you bleed for reaching greatness_

_Relentless you survive_

“Lance!” 

Lance whooped loudly at Veronica’s breathless and overjoyed call of his name as she took her first steps on the prosthetic designed by Pidge, inspired by Shiro’s arm and helped along by the Olkari. They’d visited the Olkari several times while Veronica was recuperating and getting used to the stump her crash had left her with. The highly advanced piece of tech attached just as easily at they hoped, Veronica gasping and giggling as they tested the sensitivity—Acxa’s blue fingers surprisingly gentle as they pressed against spots on the leg, smiling widely at the jerk of it when she ran a finger underneath the sole of the metal foot. Then came walking, Veronica staggering forward, hands hovering closely above the hip-height bars on either side of her in the doctor’s room, Lance walking slowly beside her, Acxa waiting at the end, hands forward to grab Vero.

When Lance asked about the two of them, Vero had only lifted an eyebrow and insisted that while Lance seemed hell-bent on pining for his half-galran for the rest of his life, Vero didn’t have such reservations. That left him blushing and spluttering as she laughed.

Lance knew that he didn’t actually save Keith at the Battle—well, he did protect him from certain death, but still—but that it was actually Keith who’d saved him. And his sister, as she probably wouldn’t have survived if they hadn’t fought and found the crashed pod, staunching the blood loss from her ruined leg. But he definitely helped Keith save a lot of people, and he accepted that. 

They didn’t save everyone, though. You never could.

“Sorry I’m late. Vero, you’re walking!”

Keith’s voice made them all turn to the door where he stood, clad in simple black sweats and a long-sleeved grey t-shirt. As soon as he stepped inside, he pushed up the sleeves, displaying the pale purple skin there. Lance wished he didn’t feel like he had to hide anymore, but having seen the reactions of people, he understood. He also knew how much it irritated the fine fur there to be covered.

“Keith!” Lance greeted with a grin, stepping closer just as Keith reached out, fingers slipping through the short locks on the back of Lance’s head and pressed their foreheads together with a hum, eyes closing briefly in a long blink. Lance mirrored his gesture habitually, as this had been their standard way of greeting each other since the Battle. Keith’s hair was trapped in a braid, so he only rested his hand over it softly for a second.

Acxa snorted as they broke apart, Veronica giggling as she staggered on to reach her partner.

“You didn’t miss much,” Lance explained to Keith, “Only the test for sense of feeling, heat, cold, and so on. They all passed flawlessly.”

“Just as expected when both Pidge and the Olkari are involved,” Keith remarked, following Veronica with his eyes as she neared Acxa. 

“Long day at work?” Lance asked, his voice minutely softer, and bumped a shoulder against Keith’s. He replied with a deep sigh and a look at the ceiling before returning his gaze to Veronica.

“Feels longer than it was. There have been over a hundred new requests to rename cities or towns to some variant of Altea or Allura this week,” he grumbled.

Lance’s heart squeezed. No, they didn’t save everyone. But it was hard to save those who chose sacrifice. 

Merging her quintessence with the Lions of Voltron, she was able to form and control the gigantic robot herself and destroyed the main Galra warship, killing the Emperor and most of his officers in one large explosion while the rest of the Paladins worked to keep their ground advantage. The Lions had survived in horrible disrepair, but they were alive and being rebuilt. Allura became part of them—the soul of Voltron itself. A true intergalactic legend.

“I wish they’d stop. We issued a statement after the first few, but they just don’t listen,” Lance sighed.

Keith hummed in agreement just as Veronica’s hands clasped into Acxa’s and both of them broke out in joyous laughter. Lance whooped and clapped as well, Keith grinning widely along with the mood. 

Acxa wrapped Veronica in a hug and kissed her right on the lips before resting a large hand on the back of Veronica’s head and leaning their foreheads together. Veronica breathed out a soft _oh_ at the same time as Keith’s face pinkened furiously.

“Aww, girls,” Lance cooed at the display, not at all aware of how intimate it actually was. When the women broke apart, they both darkened with embarrassment, Acxa more than Veronica.

“Don’t aww me, sweet baby brother. You and Keith do the same thing all the time,” Veronica shot at Lance, then shifted her eyes to Keith and lifted an eyebrow, “though I’m not sure Keith is using it quite correctly.”

Acxa snorted out a laugh again—a special feature of her—as Keith pinkened further.

“Shut up, Vero,” Keith murmured, shooting a look at Lance before continuing, “though I am happy for you.”

Lance furrowed his brow suspiciously at him.

“Also, even if you’ve been careful not to do it in front of the Blades,” Acxa began, and Lance suddenly realised that it was true—those times Keith opted for a regular human hug, “But they have known for months. All the time since the Battle. You were seen on the battlefield.”

Keith groaned.

“Wait, I am clearly missing something. Keith explained it is something you do with your close ones?” Lance said, letting his tone turn it into a question.

“Not just you close ones. The _closest_.” His sister grinned as she rubbed a hand over Acxa’s arm. “Your loved ones.”

“Well, of course we love each other, we’re _Paladins_. We all love each other.” Lance argued while Keith hid his face in his hands.

Veronica began laughing again. “Acxa, could you help me walk a bit in the hallway? And then Lance can think about why Keith has never done it to any of the other Paladins.”

The women filed slowly out of the room as Lance stared at Keith in confusion. Keith, who looked absolutely mortified.

“So, I’m getting the vibe that you haven’t explained that thing completely,” Lance started, but stopped when Keith shook his head.

“You’re right, I didn’t. I just… This is Krolia’s fault,” he grumbled and paced further away. Lance’s eyebrows shot towards his hairline

“How is this you moms fault?” he asked incredulously, “You’ve been doing this forehead touch for months and clearly left out some crucial meaning when explaining what it’s about. Other than just being super intimate, which isn’t really weird because, you know, we’ve fought in a war side by side for years, things get intimate.”

Keith had turned to face him again halfway through his words. “It’s mom’s fault because she started it.”

“Started it—oh.” Lance suddenly remembered the very first and only time Krolia had done the gesture on the day they returned to Earth, five months ago. “I still fail to see why that means you can’t explain it properly then.”

“Because you made it so much worse when _you_ did it to me the first time, and I have no clue what possessed you to put your hand on my head, but here we are.” Keith’s voice was almost growly in its petulance.

“Does that make so much of a difference?” Lance hissed out, angry that Keith suddenly shifted the blame to _him_. “It still doesn’t excuse that you didn’t just explain!”

“It makes _all_ the difference!” Keith answered in a yell, “Krolia would _never_ use that variation for me or you.”

“So there’s variations now?” Lance huffed, hands on his hips, “One for loved ones, one for mothers, one for siblings, one for in-laws?” 

Keith sighed, suddenly deflating. “Just two. It’s only ever used between parents and children, without the hand on the head, and… loved ones, with the hand.”

“Loved ones,” Lance drawled, “So just everyone else than the parents or children?”

Keith murmured something low.

“What?”

“I said, maybe not exactly loved ones, but… lovers. Specifically lovers.”

“Like Acxa and Vero just did? I mean, I know they’ve—wait.” Lance started but broke himself off with a gasp. “The entire Blade thinks we’re boning.”

Keith hid his face in his hands again and said something unintelligible.

“ _What_ , Keith, speak the fuck up.”

“It’s not just… It’s more equal to being married. Krolia doing it with you was her accepting you as her son-in-law, basically.”

Lance gaped at Keith, who looked everywhere but Lance.

“ _Keith_ ,” Lance started, but was interrupted by a groan from Keith.

“I’m sorry, it was just that night with your nightmare and then you just… And during the battle, I remembered how well it calmed you down, but then it just became a habit because it _does_ things to Galra, Lance,” Keith rambled, waving a hand in front of his forehead at the last words, “stupid Galra genes.”

“Keith,” Lance tried again, but he simply continued, undeterred.

“And I knew it was stupid and that I should just stop, but it was also just so _nice_ , this idea of having, sharing, and showing love, and humans wouldn’t really think twice about it other than thinking we’re a bit weird, but we’ve also been in _space_ for four years—me for six, actually—so of course we’re a bit weird.”

“Keith!”

Keith’s eyes finally snapped to Lance who still stood with his hands on his hips.

“So you tell me that I’ve been basically space-married to my husband for _months_ and we haven’t boned yet?” Lance asked, voice as serious as possible, hoping Keith wouldn’t notice the slight tremor he tried to hide.

“Lance, be serious, I just told—”

“Oh, I am serious!” Lance interrupted Keith this time, throwing his hands up. “I’ve been _space-married_ to my hot-as-hell husband for _months_ , and we haven’t even had sex! Not even a dick sucked!”

Keith spluttered, face turning pink yet again.

“It’s an absolute scandal, Keith. I say we go and fix that immediately.”

This time, he just gaped silently at Lance until the team leader took pity on him and stepped forward slowly.

“Keith,” he said softly, “Did you mean it?”

Keith loosened a shaky breath before nodding. Lance beamed at him, then took the last step and reached up to use a hand on the back of the half-galran’s head to pull his face down, their foreheads meeting with a soft bump in the middle. Keith breathed in a gasp, then squeezed his eyes shut harshly, then threaded careful fingertips through the back of Lance’s hair again.

“Good,” Lance said softly, “because so do I.”

They shared a breath there, then two, before Keith tilted their heads differently, softly pressing his lips to Lance’s. He responded immediately, moving in to wrap both arms around Keith’s neck to push harder.

When they drew back, their lips were kissed shiny and red, but formed soft smiles.

“I love you,” Lance breathed, making Keith’s eyes twinkle.

“I love you too,” he answered in a low murmur, leaning in for another kiss.

Long after their breaths had turned heavy, Lance pulled back again.

“So, about that thing where everyone of your Blades think we’re boning, but aren’t, can we remedy that? Like, as quickly as possible?”

Keith threw his head back in laughter.

_When the world is calling out your name_

_Begging you to fight_

_Pick yourself up once more_

_Pick yourself up, 'cause_

_Legends never die_

“Lance! Lance!”

“Vero!”

“She… She opened! I can hear her! She’s so… _oh_!”

“Paladins! Get to your Lions! We have a new Blue Paladin to train!”

“Oh, she _loves_ you, Lance. And Allura. But she doesn’t miss Allura.”

“No, because she’s right here. Don’t you feel her?”

“I’m crying, you guys. We need a group hug when we get back.”

“This is so different! I wonder how this works. How much of Allura is here? In each Lion? In the connection?”

“You’ll have plenty of time to experiment, Pidge. We can fly again!”

“Is this how it always feels?”

“Just wait until we can form Voltron. That’s something else.”

“Can we now?”

“No, not yet. We’ll start with some practice to whip our babies into shape again—ow, Black, okay okay, we need to get in shape too!”

“Red is practically vibrating. He missed this.”

“We all missed this.”

“We all miss her.”

“Yeah. But it’s not so bad when we’re in here, right?”

“No, it’s better. She’s here, that’s for sure.”

“Blue thinks I’ll be a fine replacement with time.”

“Of course you will, you’re a McClain. We’re nothing but perfection.”

“Oh!”

“Hahaha!”

“Sweetheart, I don’t think the Lions or Allura agree with that.”

“Shut it and fly, babe.”

_Legends never die_

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I know Allura's sacrifice is debated a whole hella lot and it wasn't really planned, but it happened anyway and I kinda liked it. It fit better with how I've completely ignored the "there are other Alteans" plotline. There are a lot of plotlines I've ignored. It is what it is!
> 
> And I just really love the whole "recipient doesn't know the true severity of the thing the other does/says"-trope, as well as Tall Galra Keith with Fangs and Claws, but He is Soft for Lance. So there you have it.
> 
> Veronica as Blue Paladin? I have no clue. It happened and it makes sense in my head for this fic. It might not for you, and if so, I'm sorry for the confusion. 
> 
> Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed. Please leave a comment if you have anything to say!


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